WWE's Drew McIntyre Looks Back On His Time In The Rising In TNA
In 2015, Drew McIntyre, LA Knight and Tonga Loa formed a faction together in TNA under the name The Rising, working alongside each other for three months before disbanding later that year. Now that all three former members are signed with WWE, McIntyre has reflected on his time in The Rising in an interview on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," and also explained how busy his schedule was throughout the mid 2010s when he was wrestling on the independent scene.
"I was back and forth to the U.K. literally every three weeks and for most TNA tapings, I'd be in like Scotland, England, the industry 2014 to '17 was just so hot. It led to the creation obviously of AEW ... I had fun with those guys, I kind of didn't understand why I needed a group, but at the same time, I was friends with Camacho — not sure what he wrestles as these days, something Loa? Tonga Loa? I'd never really been around LA at the time and at first I wasn't too sure of him ... I don't know his personality — sometimes he can rub you the wrong way at first. We were supposed to be on the same team, it was a lot at times."
Despite not getting along with Knight in the beginning, McIntyre admitted that he always knew how talented Knight, the current WWE United States Champion, was, especially when it came to his character's charisma. McIntyre also admitted that, these days, he loves Knight and regrets feeling otherwise when he initially started working with him.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.